Xiao Chong took the roasted meat from Shu Ning and took a bite, his brows furrowed.
The moment the savory aroma filled his mouth, a glint flashed in his eyes.
He stared at the meat in his hand in disbelief, unable to resist taking another bite, and quickly finished the rest.
Shu Ning started eating as well.
‘Meat with salt is just different.
It really is so much better!’
Just then, Xiao Chong squatted down, imitating how she had skewed the meat earlier, then carefully placed it over the fire to roast.
It was his first time being so close to a fire, so he was naturally wary.
At the same time, he was utterly astonished.
He refused to believe she had simply dreamed this up.
‘She must have discovered this method herself.’
A glint of understanding lit up his eyes at the thought.
He then handed the roasted meat to her.
Lifting his gaze to Shu Ning beside him, he noticed she seemed even thinner than yesterday.
This further convinced him that the other male had left her.
He felt a surprising pang of happiness at the thought of her being without a male by her side.
After breakfast, Shu Ning decided to find Mu Xia to talk to her about the salt.
“Xiao Chong, I want to go to my mother’s place.”
“I’ll go with you.”
With that, he carried Shu Ning on his back and headed over.
When they arrived at Mu Xia’s dwelling, she was nowhere to be seen.
After asking the attendants nearby, they learned she had gone to the home of a Wolf Clan Beastman family.
Before the two even reached the Beastman’s cave, they could hear the sound of a female’s sorrowful cries.
Upon reaching their destination, they saw several people with grim faces, including her mother, Mu Xia.
Shu Ning scanned her surroundings and saw a young male lying inside the cave.
“Mother, what’s going on?” Shu Ning asked.
“Ningning, what are you doing here?” Mu Xia asked.
“This isn’t a place for you to be.
Xiao Chong, take her away.”
Shu Ning grabbed Xiao Chong’s hand as he tried to lead her away.
“Mother, just tell me.
Maybe I can help.”
“It’s no use.
The witch doctor has already seen him.”
Hearing this, the middle-aged female crying with her head down felt a flicker of hope.
But when she looked up and saw it was Shu Ning, her hope instantly turned to deeper despair.
Of course, she didn’t believe her.
Shu Ning’s reputation in the Wolf Clan was well known.
“Aunt Yin…” Shu Ning said, looking at the heartbroken middle-aged female before her, then glancing toward the young man lying in the cave.
She moved through the crowd and went inside for a closer look at the young male.
His eyes were shut tight, his expression pained, and his face was pale, completely devoid of color.
“007, what’s wrong with him?”
“He’s infected with internal parasites.”
“Is there a cure?”
“The encyclopedia has a treatment, but his symptoms are quite severe.
Success isn’t guaranteed.”
After coming out, Shu Ning took Xiao Chong’s hand and said, “Let’s go back.”
“Okay.”
Seeing her heavy-hearted expression, Xiao Chong worried that she had been frightened by the young man’s condition and led her away.
“Xiao Chong, you can go back first.
I want to go back and lie down for a bit.”
“Okay.”
He looked at Shu Ning’s expression and figured she must be tired.
He watched her enter the cave before leaving.
Back in her cave, Shu Ning opened the encyclopedia and looked up the medicinal herbs for treating parasites.
She discovered that more than one ingredient was needed.
She looked up the location for each one, checking if she had ever been to those places—
The remedy included the husk of a fruit from a specific plant, a type of tree root, a kind of melon seed, a black-fleshed fruit, and one of her favorite spices from her past life—Sichuan peppercorns.
She had the fruit husks, tree roots, melon seeds, and black-fleshed fruit.
All that was missing was the spice.
She used her Instant Teleportation ability four times, and in a flash, fruit husks, a large tree, a melon, and a pile of black fruit appeared at the cave entrance.
Luckily, it was the right season for melons and black fruit to grow.
She would have to go out and find the last ingredient herself.
‘I shouldn’t have sent Xiao Chong away so soon.’
‘But then, how would I explain all these things suddenly appearing?
Never mind, better not.’
Following the map in the encyclopedia, Shu Ning set out alone.
The plant grew on a hillside not far beyond the forest.
It wasn’t too far, but it wasn’t close either.
However, she hadn’t even made it out of the forest when she began to feel weak all over, panting with exhaustion and breaking out in a cold sweat.
It seemed the wound on her back was acting up.
Shu Ning didn’t want to stop.
She was afraid that any delay would jeopardize the treatment.
‘That young man is still so young…’
‘If he dies, a family will be shattered.’
‘I should help if I can.
After all, my current identity is the daughter of the Holy Female.’
At this thought, a sense of responsibility welled up inside her.
Her feet suddenly felt energized, and she unconsciously picked up her pace.
Soon, she reached the base of the hill, a joyful expression spreading across her weary face.
But the place where the Sichuan peppercorns grew gave her pause.
‘That slope looks way too hard to climb.’
She still weighed three hundred catties.
Even though she’d just lost nearly fifty catties from using Instant Teleportation, she was still fat.
‘Can I even climb it?
I have to try.’
She had only climbed a few steps before her foot slipped, and she came tumbling heavily back down.
“OW!
That hurts…
it hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”
The impact on her backside and her injured back made her face contort into a mask of pain.
“What are you doing here, anyway?”
A pleasant voice reached her ears.
Shu Ning was thrilled.
‘It’s Jintong!’
Jintong looked at the fat female, his eyes full of disdain.
When he saw that the acne that once covered her face was now gone, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
He had just been out hunting and happened to see this fat female overestimating her abilities and trying to climb the slope.
His interest was piqued.
Forgetting his prey, he decided to see if she could actually make it up, settling down to watch the show.
But she hadn’t gotten very far before she fell.
“Utterly useless.”
He was about to leave when he heard her painful wails.
‘Might as well go over and mock her a little.’
Seeing him, Shu Ning was instantly overjoyed, forgetting all about the pain.
“Jintong, could you do me a favor?”
The moment he approached, he heard her asking for help.
A wave of irritation washed over him, and not wanting to deal with her, he turned to leave.
“Please, help me out!
I’ll owe you one,” Shu Ning said anxiously, seeing that he was about to walk away.
Seeing her sincere expression, Jintong, though still reluctant to engage, stopped and asked impatiently, “What favor?”
Seeing her chance, Shu Ning quickly said, “Help me pick a handful of those…
berries.”
She said, pointing to the Sichuan peppercorns on the slope.
“What do you want those for?” Jintong asked, his tone unfriendly when he saw she was pointing at the berries on a thorny bush.
“They’re very important to me.
They’re for saving a life.”
“Aren’t you perfectly fine right now?”
Jintong looked her over.
While she didn’t look particularly healthy, she certainly wasn’t at death’s door.
“It’s not for me, it’s for Ah Tin from the clan.
He’s very sick.”
As soon as Jintong heard her mention another male, an inexplicable anger surged within him, and his eyes turned icy.
“What does his sickness have to do with you?”
“It has nothing to do with me personally, but he’s a Wolf Clan Beastman, one of our own.
We should save him if we can.
Please, it’s urgent.
A life is on the line, we can’t delay.”
Shu Ning knew he had probably misunderstood and quickly explained.
Though annoyed, he transformed into his fiery red original form.
With a single leap, he easily jumped up and tore out the entire Sichuan peppercorn bush for her.
“Is this enough?” he asked after tossing it down.
“More than enough!” Shu Ning said happily, looking down at the Sichuan peppercorn bush on the ground.
“Thank you!”
When she looked up, the fox’s shadow was already gone.