Chapter Three Hundred Sixty-Three: Feeding the Stray Dog
The next morning, when Sang Zhe opened his eyes, the blizzard outside the cave had finally passed.
The campfire was still crackling away. Just as Sang Zhe was about to get up, he felt a heavy weight resting on his arm.
It was Shi Qingyan’s sleeping face.
Shi Qingyan was sleeping sweetly, her little hand tugging at Sang Zhe’s clothes as her head cozily leaned on his arm. Her cherry lips softly murmured, likely dreaming of delicious food.
…When did this girl fall asleep here?
Sang Zhe helplessly glanced at the empty sleeping bag on the other side.
They had agreed to sleep on opposite sides last night, but sure enough, halfway through the night, a mysterious hibernating creature had taken up residence in his sleeping bag.
“Wake up, Senior Sister Shi. It’s time to hit the road.”
Sang Zhe gently nudged Shi Qingyan, but she didn’t budge at all. Instead, she let out a soft, sleepy whine and shifted into a more comfortable position to continue sleeping.
She loves her sleep so much.
Looks like the plan to have Senior Sister punch in for work today is officially off the table.
With no other choice, Sang Zhe decided to get up first. After stretching and yawning, he stepped outside the cave.
The weather was slightly better than yesterday. He could vaguely see the vast wilderness covered in ice and snow, barren and cold. The pale sunlight shone on the icy surface, creating a blinding expanse of white.
“Well then.”
Sang Zhe put his hands on his hips and muttered to himself, “Now, how do I start looking for the Blood Demon without Nian Nian’s help?”
The icy wasteland turned out to be much larger than he expected.
And due to the harsh natural environment, sensing anything in the blizzard was a challenge. Trying to search the entire wasteland felt almost impossible.
But wandering aimlessly like this would be a big waste of time.
Is there a way to attract the Blood Demon to come find them instead? Sang Zhe started pondering.
“Good morning~ Yawn.”
A lazy voice came from behind him. Shi Qingyan groggily walked over, yawning until a cold wind hit her, finally rousing her: “Are we going to continue our luck-based wandering today?”
“It seems we have no better options,” Sang Zhe scratched his head. “Sorry for making you do such a dull job.”
“No worries, it was my idea in the first place.”
Shi Qingyan stretched her arms, her beautiful figure curving gracefully in the pale sunlight.
“Besides… I don’t dislike this kind of work at all,” she smiled brightly at Sang Zhe.
He shrugged. It was the first time he had met someone who willingly wanted to do overtime.
Back in the cave, Sang Zhe tidied up the leftovers from eating hotpot the night before.
But when he got to the ingredients, he suddenly paused.
“Eh? Senior Sister Shi, were you hungry again last night?”
Shi Qingyan froze for a moment, then blushed and huffed, “What! Do you think I’d secretly eat without you?”
“Well, that’s strange; why is there so much less duck blood?”
Sang Zhe suddenly stopped.
Shi Qingyan turned to look at him.
The two exchanged glances, and the next moment, they both started searching the entire cave thoroughly.
“…So it was true.”
On the cave floor, Shi Qingyan discovered some leftover footprints that were completely different from theirs, resembling plum blossoms.
“Even ordinary wild beasts would find it hard to sneak past our senses into the cave,” she took a deep breath, her exquisite eyes shining. “Looks like we really did catch something yesterday.”
Sang Zhe carefully sensed the surroundings, frowning: “…There’s no residual spiritual energy at all. This guy actually entered without us noticing?”
“Indeed, the Demon Clan is much more peculiar than we thought. It seems we’ll need to take turns standing guard starting tomorrow.”
Shi Qingyan followed the footprints out to the mountaintop but shook her head helplessly at the vast white expanse of ice: “Can’t find it. I guess we’ll have to wait for its next visit.”
“But what if it doesn’t show up again?”
Seeing Sang Zhe lost in thought, Shi Qingyan poked his cheek: “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m wondering, since the Blood Demon feeds on blood, why not just suck our blood directly instead of stealing the duck blood next to us?”
“…Is it possible that duck blood is just really tasty?”
“Should we try using the duck blood again tonight?”
“Well, we can, but what if we don’t catch it?” Shi Qingyan blinked, “We didn’t even notice it last night.”
“Then we’ll have to set things up properly.”
Sang Zhe leaned close to Shi Qingyan’s ear, whispering something.
——
——
That night, in the same cave. The same hotpot.
The steaming hot pot, with both of them eating till their mouths were greasy and foreheads sweaty.
Outside the cave in the wind and snow, a shadow seemed to be lurking, fixated on the two… and the duck blood in the pot.
The bright red color in the spicy oil pot was incredibly mouthwatering; it tempted everyone who saw it, as if just smelling it could drive a person crazy.
Sang Zhe and Shi Qingyan were still enjoying their meal, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the duck blood had mysteriously decreased yesterday.
Full and satisfied, they couldn’t even be bothered to clean up the pot and simply crawled into their sleeping bags.
Inside the cave, only the leftover ingredients from the hotpot remained.
It wasn’t until the sky outside completely darkened that the shadow stealthily approached the cave entrance. It made no sound and had no presence, like an invisible breeze, slipping into the cave.
It moved toward the hot pot it yearned for, seemingly swallowing hard, slowly reaching out—
“Want some? Want to add more ingredients?”
The shadow suddenly tensed, but it was too late.
The cave was instantly illuminated, bright as day, exposing it completely.
…It was a creature with hair as long as Sadako’s, its thick hair almost completely enveloping its body. Despite its small, child-sized stature, it had a pair of crimson eyes glowing through the hair.
It was now bristling, letting out a low growl like a wild beast, warning of its presence.
“Hey, don’t get all worked up.”
Sang Zhe, who had somehow appeared at the cave entrance, casually played with a pack of frozen duck blood, even waving it curiously in front of the Blood Demon.
“If you want to eat, I can share with you.”
The Blood Demon continued to growl softly, as if it completely didn’t understand Sang Zhe’s words.
…Language barrier, huh. Sang Zhe thought for a moment, tore the packaging of the duck blood, and tossed a piece to the Blood Demon.
The duck blood rolled a couple of times and landed right at the Blood Demon’s feet.
At first, the Blood Demon merely watched Sang Zhe with suspicion. But seeing him do nothing, it cautiously moved closer and swiftly shoved the duck blood into its mouth.
Sang Zhe was patient, waiting until it finished before tossing out a second and third piece.
The Blood Demon went from being vigilant and on guard to devouring the duck blood with delight.
…It was like feeding a stray dog met on the roadside.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
