GTB Chapter 130

Chapter 132: Trapped (2)

Chapter 132: Trapped (2)

Upon hearing this, Shí Yan seemed to finally understand why he had appeared here again. He said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I haven’t studied this kind of knowledge and don’t understand it very well.”

Jiang Jiuchu wasn’t surprised by Shí Yan’s answer. After all, if he understood, he wouldn’t have said that just now.

“Fifth Prince, please don’t apologize. I’m grateful that you came to find me, let alone anything else. By the way, did you come with my brother and the others?”

“Yes, we came out almost together. They set off ahead of me. I don’t know if they can find this place or if they understand this formation.”

Jiang Jiuchu felt it was hard to say. Anyway, she hadn’t heard that her brother knew about these things, but even if her brother didn’t, there would always be someone who did.

Besides, this mountain forest wasn’t that big. It shouldn’t be difficult to find them and leave together. There’s strength in numbers, and they should be able to find a way out.

Thinking this way, she wasn’t anxious anymore, because with Shí Yan by her side, others should also be able to come in.

Heaven knows how scared she was when she couldn’t get out just now, fearing that this formation would trap her and prevent outsiders from coming in. If it got dark, she would definitely be scared to death.

Fortunately, Shí Yan was now by her side, so even if her brother and the others didn’t find her before dark, she wouldn’t be so afraid.

She took out her waist handkerchief, walked to the stream, squatted down, and washed her face, washing away the sweat from her previous anxious and hot state.

Shí Yan looked at Jiang Jiuchu washing her face by the stream. His gentle and jade-like face was full of longing, longing for this moment of undisturbed tranquility.

After Jiang Jiuchu washed her face, she walked back to Shí Yan’s side. “The sun is a bit strong here. Let’s go wait in the shade over there!”

“Okay.” Shí Yan got up, led the horse to the side, tied it up, and asked Jiang Jiuchu, who was sitting under the tree, “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Jiuchu had been hungry for a long time, and upon hearing this, she quickly nodded. “I’m a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

Shí Yan awkwardly rubbed his nose. “No… I didn’t bring any food. I’ll go see if there are any fish in the stream.”

“Oh! Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu thought it made sense. He came out to find her, how could he bring food? But because he asked, she thought he had some! However, it would be nice to catch a fish and grill it.

Shí Yan walked to the stream and saw some fish. He immediately shouted excitedly to Jiang Jiuchu, who was not far away, “Miss Jiang, there are fish in the stream. Wait a moment, I’ll sharpen a branch and come over to spear them.”

“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu nodded, watching Shí Yan take out a dagger and sharpen a branch to the side. After thinking for a while, she was still too embarrassed to simply enjoy the fruits of his labor, so she got up and walked over.

“I’ll go gather some dry firewood nearby.”

Upon hearing this, Shí Yan quickly refused. “The weather is hot, and there are many snakes and insects in the mountains. Don’t gather it. I’ll gather it after I catch the fish.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be careful.” Jiang Jiuchu said, ignoring Shí Yan’s dissuasion, and walked towards the forest.

But Shí Yan’s words made her vigilant. She found a long tree branch and held it in her hand. Whenever she encountered grass, she had to beat it before daring to step forward.

After all, she was still very afraid of snakes.

Seeing that Jiang Jiuchu insisted on gathering dry firewood despite his persuasion, Shí Yan used some internal force and quickly caught four fish. Then, he hurried towards Jiang Jiuchu.

“Let me do it!” He walked to Jiang Jiuchu’s side, took the handful of dry firewood from her hand, and pulled her to a spacious place. Then, he put down the firewood and went to gather it himself.

Seeing this, Jiang Jiuchu stopped gathering firewood and instead hugged the small bundle of firewood and walked back to the tree near the stream.

Seeing the fish that had been pierced through their bodies and were still twitching slightly on the grass, she hesitated for a moment, picked up the sharpened branch that Shí Yan had made earlier, stepped on the tail of a fish with one foot, and used one hand to pierce the sharp branch into the fish’s mouth. She used a lot of strength and finally skewered each of the fish onto the branch.

Then, she walked to the stream and shook the row of skewered fish in the water, trying to wash off the grass and dirt on the fish.

However, the first fish, which was already loosely skewered, slipped directly into the water as she shook it.

Jiang Jiuchu was startled and quickly lifted the thin stick from the water. Looking at the four fish that had become three, her small face froze for a moment, and she guiltily looked back.

Seeing Shí Yan carrying a large bundle of dry firewood, she had no choice but to take the remaining three fish and walk back.

“That… the fish are skewered and washed, but… I accidentally dropped one.”

Shí Yan looked at Jiang Jiuchu holding the three fish, looking like she had done something wrong, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s okay, there are plenty of fish in this stream. I can catch them even with my eyes closed. It’s not a problem to catch ten more if I lose one, but…”

As he spoke, he took the string of fish from Jiang Jiuchu’s hand, “It’s just that you didn’t wash these fish well!”

“Huh? Not washed clean?” Jiang Jiuchu looked around in confusion, but they didn’t seem dirty!

Seeing Shí Yan covering his mouth and trying not to laugh, she instantly opened her mouth in embarrassment. “Oh!… I forgot, it seems like you have to scrape the scales off the fish, right!”

“Not bad! It seems you still know a little about common sense.” Shí Yan handed Jiang Jiuchu a few large leaves he had picked, as well as a handful of small leaves.

“Help me out. Wash these leaves clean.”

“Oh, okay.” Jiang Jiuchu took the leaves from Shí Yan’s hand a little embarrassed and followed Shí Yan to the stream.

She looked at the small leaves in her hand and asked curiously, “What are these small leaves for?”

“These small leaves have a salty fragrance and can add flavor to the fish.” Shí Yan replied while taking out the dagger from his waist and neatly dealing with the fish scales.

Jiang Jiuchu watched Shí Yan’s neat movements, washing the leaves in her hand while praising, “I didn’t expect you to know so much.”

Shí Yan smiled. “It’s alright! I learned it all at the Taoist temple before, just some self-reliance skills, nothing much.”

Jiang Jiuchu’s hand washing the leaves paused. “That’s already very impressive, much more impressive than those young masters who only know how to eat, drink, and be merry. And you also know medicine. Even if you weren’t a prince, you would still have a skill.”

She felt that Shí Yan was also quite pitiful. He didn’t have his parents by his side since he was a child, so he must have suffered a lot. She didn’t know why the Emperor threw Shí Yan into a Taoist temple?

Sure enough, when there are too many concubines and too many children, they don’t know how to feel sorry for them.

Shí Yan smiled, took a fish that had been cleaned, and said to Jiang Jiuchu, “Come, put the big leaves on the ground.”

“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu quickly placed the washed leaves on the ground.

Shí Yan quickly cleaned the three fish and then skewered another fish and cleaned it. The two then carried the washed fish back under the tree and started a fire to grill the fish.

A quarter of an hour later, Jiang Jiuchu swallowed her saliva as she looked at the golden and crispy fish. “It looks pretty good!”

Shí Yan smiled and picked up one and handed it to Jiang Jiuchu. “This one is almost ready. Try it first and see how it tastes?”

“Okay, thank you.” Jiang Jiuchu took the fish without any hesitation, blew on it, and then couldn’t wait to take a bite. She immediately nodded and praised, “It’s delicious. I think this is the best fish I’ve ever eaten.”

“How can it be so exaggerated? At most, it’s not bad, right? Can it be better than what the chefs in your mansion make?”

Although Shí Yan said this, he knew that the fish he grilled really tasted good. If it was the first time eating it, and especially when one was hungry, one would definitely find it delicious.

Jiang Jiuchu shook her head as she ate. “I’m not exaggerating at all. It’s really delicious. It’s original and flavorful without being bland, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It’s really delicious.”

Shí Yan raised his eyes and gave Jiang Jiuchu a gentle smile. “I’m glad you like it.”