Chapter 248 - 239: Rainy Day
Once the group had planned their route based on Qi Xiang’s intuition, Wei Heng checked the time. It was 9:45 AM.
It was still early. Noticing that Gu Xi didn’t look well, he suggested, "Why don’t you go get some more sleep?"
Shen Yue glanced at Gu Xi as well, then was the first to stand and head for the entrance. "We’ll split up and get things ready."
Everyone rose and filed out, leaving the entire tent to Gu Xi so she could rest quietly for a while.
Gu Xi watched Qi Xiang’s departing figure and sighed softly.
’Qi Xiang’s background... Never mind. I’ll find a better time to talk to her about it.’
Lying on her sleeping pad, Gu Xi gazed up at the gloomy sky. Though she hadn’t felt tired at all before, drowsiness gradually washed over her, and she closed her eyes.
...
Qi Xiang carefully lifted the tent flap and tiptoed to the entrance of the sleeping compartment. She peeked inside and, seeing Gu Xi was asleep, quietly backed away.
A short distance away, Wei Heng and Shen Yue heard the faint noise and both turned around. Qi Xiang nodded to them and whispered, "She’s asleep."
Wei Heng breathed a sigh of relief. "Gu Xi’s been under too much pressure lately..."
Before he could finish, he saw Qi Xiang pull a parasol from her bag.
Wei Heng glanced up at the overcast sky, confused.
Qi Xiang opened the parasol and said seriously, "It’s about to rain."
Wei Heng frowned, confused. ’Didn’t everyone already know it was going to rain?’ How... Just then, a fat raindrop splattered on his face.
He looked up at the sky. It really was raining.
’She was that spot-on?’
Realizing something, Wei Heng whipped his head toward Qi Xiang, stunned. "You..."
Qi Xiang primly lifted her chin, saying nothing. But Shen Yue, who had already taken shelter under her parasol, mused, "I hear some mutant plants are especially sensitive to rainfall..."
This was a new ability Qi Xiang had gained, a blessing in disguise from her last injury.
She had fought back and absorbed the plant’s roots, thereby gaining some of its abilities.
With a complicated expression, Wei Heng squeezed in beside her, trying his best to tuck his six-foot-plus frame under the edge of the small parasol. "Next time a great opportunity like this comes up," he said enviously, "can you include me?"
A healing factor and precognition were incredibly useful abilities in the apocalypse. Wei Heng wanted them too.
Shen Yue nodded and chimed in, "Me too."
It was just a scratch from a humanoid mutant plant, right? A small wound like that would be no problem for two strong, healthy ’male maidens’ like them.
Qi Xiang’s gaze swept over the two of them. She said nothing.
Her meaning was perfectly clear.
Wei Heng fell silent.
Shen Yue also fell silent.
The rain grew heavier, quickly turning into a torrential downpour.
When the Qin sisters arrived with their umbrellas, they saw two grown men huddled on either side of Qi Xiang like a pair of gloomy mushrooms. Standing between them, Qi Xiang elegantly held her small, floral-patterned parasol, becoming the most brilliant sight on this rainy day.
Qin Yi looked shocked. "Why aren’t you guys inside, out of the rain?" she asked, pointing to the tent behind them.
Qi Xiang: "...I didn’t want to disturb Gu Xi."
Shen Yue: "...I didn’t want to disturb Gu Xi."
Wei Heng: "...I couldn’t let *these two* disturb Gu Xi."
Qi Xiang and Shen Yue: "?"
They both looked up at Wei Heng.
The Qin sisters exchanged a smile. Qin Shi handed her umbrella to Shen Yue and ducked under her sister’s, then glanced toward the tent. "Is Gu Xi still asleep?"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Gu Xi pushed aside the tent flap, a huge black umbrella in hand.
It looked like one of those large beach umbrellas from pre-apocalypse videos of people camping on vacation.
Wei Heng and Shen Yue hurried over to set up the large umbrella outside the women’s tent. Nearby, members of the Special Service Team were already putting up a rain canopy.
Soon, the entire rest area was sheltered from the rain.
Through the misty rain, Gu Xi surveyed their surroundings. Although the camp was in a valley, the valley itself was vast, and their site was on high ground. A small creek flowed downwards on one side of the camp, and a large ravine bordered the other. Even if the downpour caused a flash flood, it was unlikely to reach them.
’However, a downpour this heavy will affect the signal.’
’Yang Liu’s drone will probably be useless.’
Under a distant canopy, Ye Junhan was organizing patrols when he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Gu Xi and Qi Xiang approaching, sharing an umbrella.
Through the curtain of rain, Ye Junhan’s gaze landed on Gu Xi’s face. "Why didn’t you sleep longer?"
"How are things outside?" Gu Xi asked.
Ye Junhan calmly averted his gaze, his hand on the scabbard at his waist pausing slightly. "The rain is too heavy. The mutant plants in the nearby forest are all growing like mad..." If that group of people hadn’t left, their situation wouldn’t be much better.
"The plants are growing like mad?" A sudden thought struck Qi Xiang. "Then there should be plenty of mushrooms, too..."
She was an agriculture student who studied plant evolution. Based on the conditions in this forest, she figured that after a rain like this, there would at least be straw mushrooms and chanterelles, if nothing else.
At the thought of chicken and mushroom stew, Qi Xiang couldn’t help but swallow. The sound happened to be overheard by Liu Hao as he was passing by.
Liu Hao was flabbergasted. ’Who would’ve thought? The ever-elegant and enchanting Miss Qi also has this... this... ah, forget it.’ He was just a big, uneducated lout; he really couldn’t find the words.
No point in wracking his brain over it.
He couldn’t find the words, but his expression gave him away.
Qi Xiang: "..."
Qi Xiang pouted. "Don’t look at me like that. You’ll get it once you’ve had some chicken and mushroom stew."
Liu Hao sidled closer. "Is it really that good?" ’Good enough to make a beauty like her forget her image?’ he wondered.
He didn’t believe it.
Not unless he could try some for himself.
Liu Hao immediately turned to Gu Xi, a fawning smile on his face. "Miss Gu..."
Gu Xi thought for a moment. "...We have chicken, but no mushrooms."
With a regretful expression, Qi Xiang rested her chin in her hand. "Too bad Da Hong isn’t here..."
Liu Hao, who had heard plenty about the legendary Da Hong, was speechless. ’...Letting a chicken find mushrooms for you to put in chicken stew? Are you for real?’
For some reason, as he looked at Qi Xiang again, he felt that this woman was truly terrifying.
Liu Hao was suddenly reminded of an old online saying—’The more beautiful the woman, the more vicious she is.’
He shivered involuntarily and shuffled closer to his captain.
Ye Junhan: "..."
The rain grew even heavier, large drops drumming against the canopy. Qi Xiang folded her parasol and pulled Gu Xi under the shelter with her.
Liu Hao and another team member had already started a bonfire, and everyone gathered around it.
Wei Heng, with a true cook’s intuition, tossed a few sweet potatoes into the fire.
Qi Xiang stared out at the pouring rain, a thoughtful expression on her face. "In about half an hour, the rain should let up for a bit. Once it stops, we can go check the nearby woods..."
’Since Da Hong isn’t here, if I want my chicken and mushroom stew, I’ll have to be self-reliant.’
"I really do miss Da Hong," Qi Xiang finally sighed, unable to hold it in any longer. Her emotion was genuine.
Across from her, Shen Yue and Wei Heng walked under the canopy together. Hearing her words, Shen Yue raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it’s *Da Hong* you miss?"
"What do you think?" Qi Xiang glanced up at him and let out a snort, her smile not reaching her eyes.
’A single chicken like Da Hong could provide all the raw materials for chicken and mushroom stew. Capable, diligent, and never complained. So much more endearing than certain useless freeloaders who only know how to eat.’