“Little girl, welcome to our village.”
A deep, thick voice interrupted Song Qing’s mental fantasies of food. She raised her head and saw a tall, burly, dark-skinned man step out of the house, extending a large hand toward her.
Having never experienced such a display before, she extended her hand in a daze to shake his.
Their hands separated as soon as they touched. The man pulled out chairs in the living room for her and Jiang Chenyu to sit down.
His simple, honest appearance and polite manners instantly made Song Qing drop her guard and begin chatting with him.
Ji Guohao asked with a faint smile, “What would you two like to trade for?”
Song Qing turned her head to look at Jiang Chenyu beside her. Seeing that his eyelids were slightly lowered as if he were lost in thought, she decided to negotiate with Ji Guohao herself. Turning back, she spoke to the village chief with some embarrassment.
“Village Chief, I managed to get some first-tier crystals on the road. Would it be alright if I exchanged them for some food in your village?”
From their brief conversation earlier, she had learned that the village chief was a second-tier ability user, so acquiring first-tier crystals wasn’t particularly difficult for him.
Song Qing’s eyelashes fluttered lightly. She looked nervously at the village chief’s friendly face, deeply afraid that he might refuse.
“Hahaha, of course! Crystals are the thing we lack the most.”
Ji Guohao’s eyes couldn’t leave her charming face and exposed, slender white arms. It took everything he had to refrain from showing any abnormality on his face.
Heavens, she’s too tempting! Two years into the apocalypse, and there’s still a girl this pure and innocent of the world? That harmless expression, those plump red little lips—they make me want to possess her completely!
Ji Guohao suppressed his surging desires and began probing for information about the two of them without making it obvious.
As someone capable of managing a village with a gang of men, he naturally was no fool blinded by lust.
This village was located beside the main road and served as a mandatory route for leaving the city. Many vehicles passed through, and ability users frequently entered the village. If it was someone he could afford to provoke, he wouldn’t hold back; if not, he would entertain them generously with good food and drink before seeing them off.
Upon learning that one of them had a first-tier earth ability while the other was a second-tier healer, his smile deepened. He threw a meaningful glance at Xiao Liu, who was standing to the side.
Xiao Liu caught the hint and walked into the kitchen with full understanding.
“If Xiao Song doesn’t mind, why don’t you have a casual meal with me? After we eat, I’ll arrange for someone to trade supplies with you. How about that?”
Having gathered enough information, he smilingly extended an invitation to the girl.
Song Qing could already smell the savory aroma of meat drifting from the kitchen. Hearing his words, she shook her head repeatedly and pursed her lips, saying somewhat bashfully, “Then I’ll be troubling the Village Chief.”
Ji Guohao waved his hand. “What trouble could it be? It’s just a meal.”
Before long, a gentle-looking woman wearing an apron brought dishes up. Song Qing wanted to go help, but she was stopped, so she sat back down and watched the dishes being brought out one by one, her mouth watering wildly.
A whole soy sauce chicken, stir-fried eggs with green peppers, sour and spicy shredded potatoes were set on the table, and there was even a bowl of braised pork belly!
These were all common home-cooked dishes before the apocalypse, but this was the apocalypse! Having been here for many days, Song Qing hadn’t eaten a proper meal even once.
If it weren’t for basic politeness, she would have started devouring the food right then and there.
Song Qing was craving it terribly, yet Jiang Chenyu beside her still maintained a faint, calm demeanor.
She glanced at him with envy. She could only say that he truly lived up to his role as the male lead; after accompanying her to eat random things for several days without ever being truly full, he could still remain unruffled when facing a table of sumptuous dishes.
Unlike her, whose mouth had almost embarrassingly dribbled drool right in front of everyone.
Song Qing stared at the glistening, translucent braised pork belly and sucked her lips with a “slurp,” eliciting laughter from Ji Guohao. Even Jiang Chenyu, whose mood had been consistently bad, couldn’t help shaking his head with a faint smile.
Song Qing felt her ears burn red with embarrassment. She lowered her head so low she wished she could bury it in the ground. Under the dining table, her hand unconsciously reached toward Jiang Chenyu’s knee, tightly gripping his ring finger and pinky finger. He used his other hand to gently pat her in comfort.
Her behavior was just like a blushing little girl seeking comfort from her boyfriend.
At this moment, neither of them noticed the shift. Song Qing was immersed in her shyness and unaware, while Jiang Chenyu, in just a few short days, had already grown accustomed to her diving into his arms and trembling to seek comfort at every turn.
He, who normally disliked people getting close to him, had already gotten used to her approach, and had even developed the habit of coaxing this timid, cowardly little coward.
A moment later, the hostess and Xiao Liu, who had been helping in the kitchen, took their seats, and they officially began to eat.
Through her chat with the village chief, Song Qing had learned that the hostess was named Wang Xia, and she was his wife.
Wang Xia was sitting directly across from her at the moment, her complexion far from good, devoid of any smile.
Song Qing assumed their free-loading had displeased the village chief’s wife, so she felt guilty and kept her head down, eating furiously.
She didn’t want to be so thick-skinned, but the food was simply too delicious—she just couldn’t control herself.
As she ate, she also used her chopsticks to place meat onto the plate of Jiang Chenyu beside her, who was barely moving his chopsticks.
Ji Guohao raised his wine glass and laughed heartily toward Song Qing, who was buried in her food. “Come, Xiao Song, Xiao Jiang, let’s share a toast! It really isn’t easy for us to meet in a world like this.”
Hearing his words, Wang Xia, sitting beside him, tightly clenched her hands underneath the table, her fingernails digging deep into her flesh. She raised her eyes to look at the delicate girl across from her, only to receive a warning glare from Xiao Liu.
Thinking of her child, she closed her eyes in sorrow.
Song Qing didn’t pay attention to them. Upon hearing the village chief’s words, she raised her head. Her red lips were slick and shiny from eating, looking even more moist and delicate. She raised her glass to clink it with the village chief’s, simultaneously tugging at the indifferent Jiang Chenyu.
Except for Wang Xia, who sat woodenly in her seat, the remaining people all clinked their glasses and drank.
The alcohol in the glass was home-brewed yellow wine from the countryside. It had a low alcohol content and tasted sweet. Since the food was a bit salty, Song Qing held her glass and drank the sweet yellow wine down in small sips.
Around the old-fashioned square table, aside from the beautiful girl foolishly eating and drinking, everyone else had their own calculated thoughts.
Seeing that both the girl and the sickly man had drunk the alcohol, the excitement on Xiao Liu’s face could not be concealed. He only restrained himself after Ji Guohao glared at him.
Having eaten her fill, Song Qing still couldn’t bear to put down her chopsticks. She held a savory chicken foot, gnawing on it idiomatically. As she chewed, she suddenly felt her body growing weak, assuming she was just exhausted from traveling all day.
After finishing the chicken foot, she raised her head to look at the dark, burly man in the head seat. “Village Chief, I seem to be a bit tired. As for trading supplies, let’s do it tomorrow instead. Could you arrange a room for us to rest first?”
Confirming that the drug had taken effect, an unbridled smile broke out on Ji Guohao’s face. He stood up and approached the girl. “Sure! Why wouldn’t it be okay? How about I arrange the best room for you? Tonight, you can stay together with Uncle. Uncle’s room happens to be the best one in the village.”
He spoke in a hoarse voice, his rough, large hand reaching out toward her snow-white little hand resting on the wooden table.
So smooth! So tender!
Ji Guohao’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
“What are you doing?” Song Qing swatted his hand away and leaned her body backward. The man’s disgusting words made her feel sick all over. Only by leaning against Jiang Chenyu’s warm body did she feel slightly better.
“What am I doing? Naturally, I’m taking good care of you! What’s so good about staying with a sickly man? You can’t even eat your fill. You’d be much better off following Uncle. Uncle will let you eat fish and meat every single day.”
Ji Guohao grinned, revealing a mouthful of large yellow teeth, his hand reaching out to touch her snow-white cheek.
“Get away from me!” Song Qing didn’t let him touch her, pushing his hand away in disgust.
Her expression full of revulsion caused Ji Guohao to drop his smile. Before the apocalypse, he had been a hotel security guard and despised those high-and-mighty guests the most, especially those beautiful women. In their eyes, he was like someone at the bottom of the mud, forever unworthy of entering their sight.
He straightened up, turned his head, and called out toward the yard, “Come in! Tie up that sickly man.”
Seven or eight men instantly surged in from outside the house. Catching sight of the girl at the table whose small face was slightly flushed from drinking, all of their eyes went straight.
“Wow, Brother Hao, this chick is top quality! After you’re done with her, let us brothers enjoy her too!”
A greasy, vulgar man licked his lips and spoke.
“Yeah, yeah! This chick is really gorgeous! I’ve lived for so long and I’ve never seen a woman this fair!”
The other men chimed in one after another.
“Fuck off, I won’t leave you guys out,” Ji Guohao kicked the vulgar man. “Hurry up and tie up that weakling for me!”
Seeing this scene, Song Qing realized she had stepped into a wolf’s den. Her weak body stood up, blocking the way in front of Jiang Chenyu as she forced out a fierce posture. “Don’t touch him!”
Her pure, delicate face putting on such a fierce expression made her look like a helpless kitten. Far from being intimidating, it only made people’s hearts itch with desire.
“Xiao Song, stop worrying about your useless man. Come on, let Uncle take good care of you.”
Ji Guohao laughed as he reached out to grab her arm.
Song Qing dodged his hand. Her body felt soft and weak; realizing there was a problem with the food just now, she gritted her teeth and activated her ability.
She originally wanted to condense a hard lump of earth to knock Ji Guohao unconscious, but due to her physical condition, she only managed to create a pile of mud that splashed all over him.
Although it was practically useless, it was enough to block him for a moment.
Song Qing turned around immediately, but her legs were weak, and she collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
The icy chill of the cement floor cleared her mind slightly. Effortfully lifting her head, her eyes caught sight of Jiang Chenyu’s situation.
He was being roughly dragged across the ground, his body tightly bound by thick hemp ropes. Striking red blood surged out from his abdomen wrapped beneath the white shirt, staining the yellow hemp ropes red. His face was entirely pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, looking as though he were desperately enduring severe pain.
He was currently being dragged toward the outside of the house roughly by two men.
Song Qing’s eye sockets felt hot, red, and swollen. Biting her lip, warm tears streamed down her entire face.
It was all her fault! If she hadn’t insisted on entering this village, Jiang Chenyu wouldn’t have had to suffer like this at all! Lying on the ground, she clenched her fists tightly, filled with self-abhorrence.
Jiang Chenyu’s indifferent gaze met hers, and he then startled slightly.
The girl’s almond eyes were bright red, and pitiful tears kept falling down her fair, tender cheeks. Her delicate lips were bitten until they bled.
She looked entirely like a frightened girl afraid of being violated by men.
Jiang Chenyu felt a prick in his heart, nearly unable to restrain himself from immediately killing the few eyesores of men.
Yet he still hardened his heart and closed his eyes, ignoring her pitiful appearance. He had to let her suffer a bit more; otherwise, setting aside her timid nature, she still had no vigilance toward strangers. If this personality of hers didn’t change, she would cause endless trouble for him.
He had no obligation to warn her time and time again, nor would she necessarily listen. Being told a hundred times by others wasn’t as effective as experiencing it herself once.
Ji Guohao shook off the mud on his body, rubbing his eyes which stung from the mud that had splashed into them. With a dark face, he walked toward the girl on the ground, unbuckling his belt as he walked.
“Bitch, I wanted to treat you nicely, but you refused. Then don’t blame me!”
He had completely lost his patience and intended to take her right there on the floor.
Song Qing was not the kind of person who would sit passively on the ground and let a man abuse her. How could someone who had killed three people in succession during peaceful times truly be the timid, obedient girl she appeared to be?
While continuing to draw out her ability to attack Ji Guohao, she retrieved a second-tier crystal to absorb it. A massive power surged violently inside her body, causing a tearing pain throughout her flesh, which she gritted her teeth to endure.
Ji Guohao possessed a second-tier wind ability. Earlier, he had only been splashed with mud because he was unprepared; now that he was on guard, he directly blew away the mud ball she launched at him.
He pulled off his belt and tossed it to the side, exposing his disgusting parts as he walked toward the weak girl lying on the ground with a cruel, hideous laugh.