January 23
"How did you get up here?"
Huaxiu pushed open the door and blurted out the question in surprise when she saw who was outside.
A little while earlier, out in the hallway, Taoris had been skipping lightly toward Xiangzi's bedroom. She had just finished helping out in the kitchen downstairs, and now she wanted to see what Huaxiu was doing.
One thing worth noting was that she was carrying a crooked little metal contraption in her hand.
But before she even reached the door, she heard some extremely suggestive sounds coming from inside.
"Eek! W-What are they doing in there?"
She froze on the spot like a wind-up doll whose key had run down.
"?! ..."
Inside, one girl after another was making those breathy, half-stifled cries of pain.
And it was not just one person.
There were two distinct voices.
The noise in the room was enough to make anyone's imagination run wild.
Taoris stood there outside the door, uncertain whether she ought to knock and go in or turn around and flee without a word. She could not make out what they were saying, but the sounds alone were more than enough to cause a misunderstanding.
Could it be…
Could it be that Baihe Huaxiu was taking advantage of Xiangzi being injured and trying to force something inappropriate on her?!
The thought flashed through Taoris's mind, and her face instantly turned bright red. She hurriedly shook her head, as though trying to fling all those indecent images out of her brain.
Unfortunately, she shook too hard.
Dong.
Her forehead smacked right into the wall.
Dizzy and seeing stars, Taoris inwardly cursed her bad luck. She had really done it now.
Before she could react, the door opened from the inside.
It was Huaxiu, who had come out after hearing the noise.
"So it's you, little one…"
The redness had not yet faded from Huaxiu's face. With her arms folded, she looked Taoris over with clear displeasure in her eyes.
That look was downright venomous.
Even Huaxiu herself did not realize just how terrifying her expression had become.
Under that gaze, Taoris's scalp prickled, but she still had some backbone. She stared back. Unfortunately, her head was still spinning, so the words that came out were not very well thought through.
"Miss Huaxiu, I'm around the same age as you, you know! Don't call me a child just because I'm short!"
"All right, all right. Then tell me, why were you creeping around out here? You looked exactly like a little thief sneaking into someone else's house just as the owner came home."
"I'm not a thief!"
"I know you're not a thief. So were you here to see me, or Xiangzi?"
"Right. I came to see Miss Xiangzi. Only… um… why did I come again?"
Oh no.
She had smacked her head hard enough to rattle herself silly.
Then, without thinking, Taoris blurted out exactly what she had been doing.
"Miss Huaxiu, I really wasn't eavesdropping on you two…"
That made Huaxiu laugh on the spot. Her dark mood vanished in an instant.
One hand slipped free to pinch Taoris's soft little cheek.
"Haha, so that's what this is about. Eavesdropping? If you wanted to listen, you could've just come in openly."
With that, Huaxiu pulled the door wide and dragged Taoris inside.
The moment Taoris stepped into the room, she was hit by the thick smell of disinfectant. Mixed into it was the faint smoky scent of firewood that had not burned completely and had lingered indoors instead of going cleanly up the chimney.
A tray full of medicine sat on the table, crowded with bottles, gauze, and cotton. The trash bin on the floor was stuffed with used bandages and other stained medical waste.
The two injured girls were lying separately in their own beds, cocooned in blankets.
And just like that, the truth was out in the open.
Taoris's face went scarlet, as red as if someone had smeared ketchup all over it.
There had been no scandalous play between beautiful girls after all.
Huaxiu had simply been cleaning and disinfecting Xiangzi and Ye Ling's wounds and changing their dressings.
Ye Ling had already drifted off to sleep. Xiangzi, meanwhile, sat propped up with a thermos cup in hand, smiling softly as she looked at the two of them.
"So, little Taoris, what brings you up here?"
"Miss Xiangzi, dinner's ready downstairs. My sister asked me to come tell you. Oh, right—and this, too. I found it downstairs."
As though proudly presenting treasure, she held up the twisted little metal object in her hand.
It was a landline telephone.
"The one from the living room downstairs?"
"That's right. There were several more in the other rooms too. I don't know why your room didn't have one, so I removed one from a guest room and brought it up."
With everyone's smartphones long since reduced to flashlights, alarm clocks, cameras, and note-taking tools, this clunky old wired phone had suddenly become the most convenient communication device in the house.
Xiangzi had actually wanted to get some proper walkie-talkies or even a radio set, but there had been no good chance to do so. For now, this would have to do.
"All right. We'll deal with it later. Just put it down over there."
"Okay. Then I'll head back down and bring up the wire."
"Wait. What are Miranda and the others doing right now?"
"They've already finished clearing the corpses around the entrance. They're resting on the first floor now. Those two new girls went to the lake to fetch water."
Xiangzi nodded to show she understood.
Just as Taoris turned to leave, Huaxiu called after her.
"All right, Taoris. Go tell everyone it's time to eat, before the dishes cool and stop tasting good."
"Got it."
Her footsteps clattered down the corridor and quickly disappeared from Xiangzi and Huaxiu's sight.
Night was falling, and the crisis from the day before had passed. Even the air in the room felt lighter now.
Because Xiangzi and Ye Ling were still injured and could not move around much, dinner had been arranged in the large living room of Xiangzi's house tonight. Several tables had been shoved together to make one long dining surface. Tables, at least, were something this place did not lack.
For tonight's little celebration, Huaxiu had shown no restraint at all. She had dug deep into their stores.
Canned beef, mutton, pork, fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish. Dried vegetables, mountain herbs, fruit preserves. Even carbonated drinks had been hauled out. And because there was an elderly man among them tonight, she had also prepared some soft, grain-based drinks that would be easier on him.
But the real star of the meal was the deer that old Mr. Saitō had carried back this afternoon.
No need to worry—Huaxiu had already checked it with the same detector Xiangzi had used before. The deer had not been infected. It was clean.
Since the carcass had been too large, the meat had been prepared in several different ways: steamed, roasted, braised, fried. When Huaxiu had gone upstairs earlier, the stove in the kitchen had still been burning on a low flame, keeping the dishes warm and slowly simmering the tougher cuts until they turned tender.
"All right, this is the last dish. Dinner's ready—everyone, dig in!"
Carrying a large soup basin, Huaxiu came upstairs. Brent shut the door behind her, and everyone took their seats.
The room was brightly lit and full of warmth. With everyone gathered around the table, it almost felt like New Year's.
Because Xiangzi and Ye Ling could not really sit up properly, they had been brought out from the bedroom and laid half-reclining on the sofa with layers of pillows propping them up.
"Don't hold back. The enemy's been beaten back, so what else is there to fear? Eat as much as you want. We have enough for everyone."
Holding up her cup full of drink, Xiangzi looked around at everyone with a smile.
"Cheers!" everyone answered at once.
Glasses clinked together, and the dinner slowly began.
Because Xiangzi was still injured, Huaxiu kept piling food into her bowl.
This was her first time eating wild venison.
What would it taste like?
Xiangzi picked up a slice that did not look much different from any other meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.
The gamey smell had been suppressed beneath a rich sauce, and the spices from the steaming pot had soaked through beautifully.
Still, the texture was undeniably tough. Even after such a long cooking time, the meat remained a little dry and fibrous.
So that's all it is, Xiangzi thought to herself. People only make a fuss because it's rare.
In the end, venison still did not compare to more common meats like beef—or even donkey meat.
At that moment, Saitō Koina stepped away from his chair with his cup in hand and raised it toward Xiangzi.
Everyone else set down their chopsticks and looked over.
Then, together with Chiha Hayase and Chihaya Ai, he stepped back from the table and knelt.
"Everyone… I truly don't know how to thank you. You saved both this old man's life and my granddaughter's. I have nothing with which to repay such kindness!"
With that, he pulled Chiha down with him into a kneeling bow. Ai dropped to her knees as well.
"Please, don't do that! Really, you mustn't!" Huaxiu jumped to her feet and rushed over, trying to help them up. Xiangzi also hurriedly protested, "You're our elder—how could I possibly accept such a formal bow? Please, get up. The floor's cold!"
But Saitō's voice was full of sincerity.
"You deserve it. How many people as kind as you still exist in this world? From now on, if you need anything at all, just call on me. My life belongs to you."
It was not mere courtesy. It was spoken from the heart. A life-saving debt could not simply be brushed aside.
Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Xiangzi could only let him bow.
After that little interruption, the meal continued.
By the time the night crept toward nine-thirty, nearly ten o'clock, the gathering finally began to break up.
Pleasant time always seemed to pass much too quickly.
After settling the two injured girls back into bed, Miranda, Huaxiu, and the others did not stay upstairs. They all headed down.
Since Saitō and the other two insisted they would not stay the night, they came to say their farewells in a hurry.
Of course, they would be back tomorrow to help with work.
There was no real way to keep them, so everyone came out to see them off.
Downstairs, Saitō stood with his old rifle—the one that still had a few bullets left in it—while his dog sat faithfully beside him. In the chaos of the night before, he had actually forgotten about the animal entirely.
Luckily, when he returned home at noon, he found poor Akamaru still alive, though nearly collapsed.
Several people stood in the snow outside. The old man turned back to look at Miranda, Huaxiu, and the others at the door.
"That's enough. Don't come any farther. There's probably nothing left nearby anyway, not after what we killed last night."
"All right then. Take care, sir. See you tomorrow!" Huaxiu called.
"See you. Get back inside—the cold's no joke."
Chiha and Ai stood close together under Saitō Koina's guidance, waving to the people at the doorway.
A thin crescent moon hung in the sky. The night air was calm, almost windless.
Huaxiu and the others stayed where they were until the little light they carried disappeared from sight. Only then did they head back inside.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
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The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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