Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 379 - 221 Licking the Calf (2)

When night fell and the path blurred, Qu Jing could only pocket a few uneaten fruits and find a tree to climb for a light nap.

After a whole day, Qu Jing’s steps in the mountains could dominate her social circle, yet not a word was spoken, not even the simplest self-talk.

Remaining silent, just searching for paths and food, it appeared very desolate.

The lone ranger.

That was Qin Huai’s impression of Qu Jing.

Qin Huai stood by the tree, relying on the moonlight to vaguely see the person on it. Qu Jing wasn’t asleep, sitting on the tree seemingly pondering something, and only after one or two hours did she lean against the trunk for a shallow sleep.

By the dim light of dawn on the second day, Qu Jing awoke. Nimbly climbing down, eating fruit, hunting for more, no longer fixated on running deeper into the mountains but first seeking edible things instead.

It wasn’t until this moment that Qin Huai realized Chen Huihong’s abilities, although not mighty, were very practical.

Qu Jing still had to scour the mountains for food, while Chen Huihong merely needed to pluck some tree bark off herself.

Qu Jing spent the whole morning searching for fruits yet found few, but discovered finger-sized fish in the stream. After being unable to catch them by hand, Qu Jing began to seek tools, fetching several thin, long branches to use as makeshift fishing rods, lying by the stream to fish.

This looked very much like a kitten fishing with its tail.

No extra emotions, merely pure hunger for food.

When Qu Jing was wholly focused on fishing, a subtle noise emerged not far off.

The sound was so light even Qin Huai didn’t hear it, yet Qu Jing quickly tensed up, her whole being entering a guarded status, hiding behind the nearest tree, quietly poking her head out to look toward the noise.

It was a hunter.

He appeared older, with some gray in his hair, seeming very aged, skin dry, but his arms were robust and powerful, and his eyes not clouded.

Judging by his eyes, the hunter’s actual age wasn’t as old as he looked, likely around 50 years.

The hunter carried a rifle over his shoulder and held a long knife. Upon seeing the hunter clearly, Qu Jing was so nervous she held her breath, remaining motionless, stiffly hiding behind the tree, extremely afraid of being seen.

The hunter was equally cautious, with light steps and slow movement. If it weren’t for the thin, short branches Qu Jing had broken for fishing, on which the hunter accidentally stepped, creating a faint noise, he’d likely have reached behind Qu Jing unnoticed.

The two were at an impasse, even Qing Huai, watching from the sidelines, grew tense.

In Qin Huai’s view, Qu Jing seemed a bit too timid.

She was so timid, yet chose a childlike form. Qin Huai couldn’t understand whether Qu Jing was meticulously prepared or carelessly crossing a tribulation.

The two stayed like this for about ten minutes.

Finally, Qu Jing lost her balance, slightly swaying, which was noticed by the keen-eyed hunter, who discovered the tree where she was hiding.

"Who’s there?" The hunter raised his gun cautiously.

Qu Jing widened her eyes in tension, the fear in her gaze was genuine, her whole body stiff with dread, dared not move or come out, just standing there frozen, not making a sound.

The hunter stepped forward swiftly, aiming the muzzle at Qu Jing. Once he saw she was a small, thin, and disheveled girl with shredded clothes, cradling two lifeless small fish, he realized she had been in the mountains for several days, and he lowered his gun, astonished, then quickly understood.

"It’s such a sin, throwing a girl out into the mountains once she’s grown this big, so she’s short of just a few bites?" The hunter shook his head and sighed. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Seeing Qu Jing still looked at him with fear, the hunter softened his tone, not stepping forward anymore, and asked, "Girl, which village are you from?"

Qu Jing said nothing.

"Did you come into the mountains on your own by accident, or someone brought you in? It’s dangerous in the mountains, why not come out with grandpa?"

Qu Jing still didn’t speak.

No matter how the hunter questioned, Qu Jing stayed silent. After seven or eight questions with no response, only fearfully hiding behind the tree, looking at him with terror, the hunter sensed something was amiss.

"Could she be mute?" The hunter muttered, imagining a tragic past, "No wonder."

"Truly a poor girl."

Having fully imagined Qu Jing’s tragic backstory, the hunter hesitated no more, took a big step forward to grasp Qu Jing’s wrist, and despite her struggle and resistance, insisted on taking her down the mountain.

"Girl, there are tigers and black bears on this mountain, last year a tiger came down and killed several people. It’s too dangerous for a little girl like you to stay up here, come down with grandpa, and grandpa will help you find your home."

The hunter was undoubtedly a man of action, saying he would take Qu Jing down the mountain and indeed did so; he even abandoned his backpack containing rabbits in the distance, not worrying about it, pulling Qu Jing along toward the foot of the mountain.

Qu Jing attempted to slip away but to no avail, eventually having to follow the hunter down the mountain with a resigned look, as if she wasn’t heading down but going to a place of execution.

The hunter took Qu Jing to a village at the mountain foot. At noon, there were quite a few people in the village; seeing the hunter with a little girl, they all greeted him, asking whose child this was, noting she looked like she was fleeing from hardship.

The hunter explained briefly, saying he’d found her on the mountain and headed straight for the village chief’s house.

At the village chief’s house, the head’s wife brought Qu Jing inside, filled a basin with clean water for Qu Jing to wash her face and hands, helping her wash her hair. Qu Jing initially wanted to resist, but the village chief’s wife handed her a small boiled egg and gave her half an ear of corn.

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