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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Nuan was at a loss for words, struggling to find a way to speak, which was completely unlike her usual self.
Gu Ze was quite patient, walking into Coconut Grove alongside her.
"I'm not in a hurry."
"But I am," Xu Nuan blurted out, then froze as she met Gu Ze's teasing gaze. Feeling uncomfortable, she scratched her face and turned away.
"Forget it, let's go look for Coconut Crab."
With that, Xu Nuan quickly walked ahead of Gu Ze, waving the flashlight around as she followed Zhang Xiao's instructions to find edible coconuts that had fallen between branches or those on the ground that weren't completely spoiled.
Gu Ze chuckled and shook his head. She always thought she could hide things, but how could those untainted eyes possibly conceal anything?
"Take it easy; if you run into a tree later, don't say I didn't warn you."
Seeing Xu Nuan rushing ahead, he couldn't help but remind her.
Xu Nuan was displeased and shot back while walking briskly. "Am I a child? Do I need someone to remind me how to walk?"
"Bang!"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
Xu Nuan pressed her hand against her forehead, feeling like crying without tears. Gu Ze, that jinx, always had a knack for making things worse.
"Let me see!"
Gu Ze grabbed Xu Nuan's hand that was covering her forehead, trying to pull it away. Xu Nuan resisted, feeling indignant.
"If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have bumped into anything."
Gu Ze feigned innocence. "If you have night blindness, you shouldn't be so reckless at night."
"Who says someone with night blindness can't go out to find food at night?" Xu Nuan realized that ever since Gu Ze found out about her condition, she had been on the losing end of their banter.
"Forget about it!"
Xu Nuan tried to put on a fierce expression.
Gu Ze chuckled and countered, "Which thing should I forget? The fact that you bumped into a tree or that you have night blindness?"
Xu Nuan began to grind her teeth. After a few rounds of verbal sparring, Gu Ze's wit had become sharper. If she didn't find a way to get back at him, she could already foresee her future of unfortunate gaming experiences.
Xu Nuan searched her brain for a moment and then broke into a sly smile, catching Gu Ze's surprised gaze.
"Gu Ze."
Her face twisted into an exaggerated expression of deep grievance, instantly making Gu Ze tense up. Whenever Xu Nuan wore such an expressive face, it meant she was up to no good. He loved seeing her lively side but hated being the target of her mischief.
Seeing Gu Ze's alert expression, Xu Nuan couldn't help but feel a sense of delight. She then became very serious and said, "There's a spider on your shoulder, a really big one."
Gu Ze instantly froze.
Xu Nuan, having successfully pulled off her prank, burst into laughter. Her large almond-shaped eyes turned into crescent moons, and there were faint dimples at the corners of her lips.
Gu Ze quickly realized he had been tricked, and it was his own fault for falling for it. However, being able to witness such a joyful smile made the teasing worthwhile.
"How coincidental, there's also a spider on your shoulder, and it's colorful."
Gu Ze calmly retaliated.
Xu Nuan's body stiffened for a few seconds before she realized that Gu Ze was getting back at her. Tch, this trick could only be used once in a while; using it too frequently would diminish its effect.
Standing still in deep thought, Xu Nuan recalled Gu Ze's other weaknesses and sadly discovered that aside from his fear of spiders, he seemed to have no other flaws. In many ways, Gu Ze was quite the perfect man.
There couldn't possibly be a perfect person. Xu Nuan ground her teeth as she continued to think when she suddenly heard Gu Ze's lowered voice.
"Xu Nuan, watch your step."
"Gu Ze, I’m not—"
Xu Nuan lowered her hand from her forehead, intending to disdainfully scold Gu Ze. However, he strode over and pressed down on her shoulder with one hand while the other forced her to look down at her feet.
Reluctantly, her gaze fell to the ground where there was a relatively fresh coconut. A crab was slowly crawling out from underneath it; it was larger than her palm and moving at a leisurely pace.
"That's so big, and the claws are huge."
Xu Nuan imagined the feeling of her fingers being pinched by a crab claw, and her face twisted in pain.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
Gu Ze patted Xu Nuan's shoulder, then bent down to press down on the Coconut Crab. With his other hand, he grabbed its two large claws and straightened up to face Xu Nuan.
"We just need to find a rope to tie up the claws, and it won't be dangerous anymore."
"That's true, but I didn't bring any rope with me," Xu Nuan said, distressed, only to notice Gu Ze's gaze was fixed on her head.
Pouting slightly, Xu Nuan took off her hair tie and wrapped it around the crab's claws, securing them. After that, she brushed her hair back into place. Her hair was in good condition, and even with the hair tie pulling at it, it remained smooth.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the forest, causing her hair to fly wildly. In other words, Xu Nuan looked disheveled in the wind. Although she usually didn't care much about her appearance, this time she felt a bit embarrassed.
A hand reached out to help Xu Nuan smooth her hair. The warm fingers occasionally brushed against her slightly cool cheek.
Realizing what was happening, Xu Nuan quickly pulled away from Gu Ze's hand and used one of her own to tame her hair, muttering without realizing the situation.
"My hands aren't broken; I can handle it myself."
Gu Ze's gaze darkened slightly, but unfortunately, in the darkness, Xu Nuan didn't see it. Nor did Gu Ze notice Xu Nuan's red ears hidden beneath her long hair.
While Xu Nuan couldn't be of much help at night, Gu Ze had excellent vision. He wandered around Coconut Grove for quite a while and managed to find three crabs in total.
"Bountiful Harvest."
Xu Nuan nodded in agreement, realizing that following Gu Ze meant there would be delicious food.
"By the way, do you know how to cook crabs to make them taste good?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xu Nuan received a meaningful glance from Gu Ze.
"Yeah, I got it."
Xu Nuan feigned calmness, which made Gu Ze chuckle lightly. The frustration he felt from Zhang Xiao bringing news about Qin Yaojie instantly dissipated.
He still had a chance. The person standing next to Xu Nuan was him, not the legendary Qin Yaojie.
There were countless possibilities for the future; as long as he kept them from meeting, he had a chance.
"Xu Hang probably caught a few Coconut Crabs too. I hope it helps Tang Jing Shu a bit."
As they walked back, Xu Nuan rubbed her aching forehead and deliberately ignored Gu Ze's gaze directed her way.
"Her gaming career is still long; she won't just fall down like that."
Gu Ze quickly understood what Xu Nuan meant.
As they approached the Campsite, Xu Nuan habitually began to hesitate, wondering whether to ask or not.
Xu Nuan's eyes darted around as she thought about how to start the conversation.
"By the way, when you went out with Zhang Xiao at noon, did he mention if there was a doctor among the First Batch of Players?"
Xu Nuan only heard Gu Ze's response and didn't catch his expression.
"Yes, he mentioned it."
"That's great," Xu Nuan thought about how to continue asking, "Then it will be easier once we catch up with the First Batch of Players."
"However," Gu Ze paused for a moment, "that doctor seems to have gotten separated from them, and it's still unclear if he has rejoined the group."
"I see," Xu Nuan's face fell slightly as she continued, "So you two talked quite a bit in that short time. I thought Zhang Xiao would be someone hard to get along with."
With that, Xu Nuan waited for Gu Ze's reply, her palms starting to sweat unconsciously.
"Well, I'm not too sure about that," Gu Ze replied calmly. "I only asked him about the doctor and didn't communicate further. If we kept talking, I wouldn't have had time to pick coconuts."
"That's true. He just looks difficult to approach; he only has a sharp tongue."
Xu Nuan tugged at the corner of her mouth, puzzled. Did she misjudge him?
When they returned to the Campsite, Xu Hang and the others were already back, bringing three Coconut Crabs with them.
Zhang Xiao suggested wrapping the Coconut Crabs in coconut leaves for steaming; this way, the crab meat would retain a sweet flavor.
Those who could enjoy the delicious food expressed their goodwill and gratitude towards Zhang Xiao, as if the confrontation from earlier that day was a distant memory that no one felt the need to revisit.
Xu Nuan let out a sigh of relief; she didn’t want Zhang Xiao to have a bad relationship with everyone. After all, they would be joining forces with the First Batch of Players, and they would still face challenges together.
Before the Coconut Crab was ready, Tang Jingshu woke up, groggily exclaiming how fragrant it was.
Deng Yinyin rushed over, saying something about how Tang Jingshu was in for a treat.
To be safe, everyone made sure Tang Jingshu took her medicine and also consumed some Antidote.
When Xu Nuan opened her backpack again, she noticed that her supply of Antidote was running low, and the others had little left as well.
She silently prayed that they wouldn’t encounter any more poisonous creatures in the future.
There were no gods in this world, and Xu Nuan’s prayers went unheard. On the next day’s journey, they encountered numerous poisonous animals.
Lemon-yellow and black-spotted poison dart frogs, beautifully toxic red-eyed green frogs, lizards covered in venom, and blue snakes—all cleverly hidden among the tree trunks lining the jungle paths or lurking in bushes and grass—made it difficult to stay vigilant.
As a result, their supply of Antidote dwindled at an alarming rate.
This was all happening despite Zhang Xiao’s assistance.
Zhang Xiao, well-versed in such matters and having spent some time in this area, shared knowledge with everyone along the way. For instance, he warned them not to approach certain colored trees where snakes often coiled. He advised against touching specific plants where poison dart frogs typically hid beneath the leaves.
Thanks to this knowledge, they avoided many injuries. Consequently, several people’s fondness for Zhang Xiao grew significantly, while memories of Guo Dafu's incompetence gradually faded away. After all, Guo Dafu was just a burden who played dirty and had never helped them.
Along the Special Tree, they walked from dawn until dusk, and eventually, everyone's Antidote was nearly exhausted.
"Zhang Xiao, how much longer until we reach the Supply Station?"
The weary Deng Yinyin leaned in closer to Zhang Xiao and asked.
Zhang Xiao maintained his usual calm demeanor, raising an eyebrow and curling his lips slightly.
"Not long now. As far as I know, we only have Python left to deal with."
"And how long until we encounter Python?" Deng Yinyin pressed on.
"At our current pace, we should run into it before midday." Zhang Xiao paused for a moment.
"But Python is also on the move, so everyone should stay alert from now on, just in case."
"Of course," Xu Hang nodded in agreement, then turned to Xie Huai. "You should stay behind to take care of Tang Jing Shu while the rest of us look for supplies."
Perhaps the few Coconut Crabs had made a difference; Tang Jing Shu had been mostly awake for a significant part of the time, and her fever had subsided quite a bit. However, her legs were still weak, which made the others even more eager to find ingredients to help restore her strength.
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